Dog found with hind paw severed

Straits Times 30 Jun 09;

A STRAY dog was found last Friday evening with its right hind paw severed and the remains of its leg stripped of skin and flesh.

The female dog, affectionately known as Kiwi, is part of a group of stray dogs which are fed regularly by volunteers from Action For Singapore Dogs. The volunteers believe that the horrific injuries were caused by traps set for wild boars in the dense vegetation in the Lim Chu Kang area.

These metal traps close around the leg and penetrate the skin and bone.

Some of the dogs in the group had emerged in the past two weeks with wounds on their legs - injuries the volunteers first dismissed as they thought the dogs had been fighting.

But they later found out about the traps when Kiwi showed up bloody and emaciated after being gone for a week.

Kiwi was carried to the group's rescue centre and given painkillers and antibiotics. A vet had to amputate the remainder of the dog's leg yesterday morning.

Mr Ricky Yeo, president of the group, said that despite her wounds, Kiwi was doing well.

Three weeks ago, a pomeranian was found stuffed in a plastic bag near a rubbish bin at East Coast Park. It had been left for dead. The dog was discovered by a marketing executive, who has been caring for it since.

Cases of animal abuse hit a record high in March, when the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received 95 complaints. It usually gets between 60 and 80 reports a month.

Increase penalties for cruelty to animals
Straits Times Forum 2 Jul 09;

THE recent reported acts of cruelty to stray cats and dogs are disgusting. The abuse of Kiwi, the female stray dog photographed with a severed leg caused by a metal trap, was horrible.

Perhaps stiffer penalties should be imposed on such culprits, if they are caught.

Cleopatra Leo (Miss)

Animal traps are plain acts of cruelty
Straits Times Forum 2 Jul 09;

I READ with deep concern on Tuesday that the use of an animal trap in Lim Chu Kang has cost a dog its hind limb and subjected it to severe pain ('Dog found with hind paw severed').

The use of such devices to trap and maim wild animals is not to be condoned, as it leads the victim to a slow and painful death. There is also a risk that any human walking in the area can step on a trap and suffer the same anguish.

Can the authorities take measures to comb the area and remove such traps? Surely, planting any device that poses a significant risk to the well-being of others is against the law. Perpetrators of such heinous acts should not get away scot-free. Already, the recent cases of animal abuse are most unnerving.

Basic respect for fellow beings, human or otherwise, should not be allowed to plumb new lows.

Yeow Ping

Animal abuse
Straits Times Forum 2 Jul 09;

'Shocking. Such a crude trap should be banned.'

MR BENNIE CHEOK: 'Tuesday's report, 'Dog found with hind paw severed', which showed a picture of the dog with its hind leg bone dangling is shocking. I cannot imagine that the metal trap, seen in movies used by trappers to hunt wild animals for food, is still used in modern Singapore. Such a device, set in the dense vegetation of Lim Chu Kang to trap wild boars, poses a danger not only to animals but also to soldiers training in the vicinity. The use of such a crude and dangerous metal trap should be banned and offenders fined heavily and jailed, to deter others from using it.'